U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,638,916 and 5,489,035 disclose dispensing closures of one-piece integrally molded plastic construction. These closures include a base with a dispensing opening and an internally threaded skirt for securement to a container neck finish. A lid is integrally connected by a hinge to a periphery of the base. U.S. Patent document 2005/0023285A1 discloses a child-risistant dispensing closure that includes a base having a deck with a dispensing opening and a peripheral skirt. A lid is integrally molded with the base and coupled by a hinge to a periphery of the base so as to be pivotable between closed and open positions. One of the lid and the base has a latch arm resiliently extending from its periphery opposite the hinge. The latch arm has a pair of oppositely extending tabs adjacent to a free end of the arm. The other of the base and the lid has an axial passage for receiving the latch arm, and a pair of laterally spaced ledges in the passage for engagement by the tabs to lock the lid in the closed position. The latch arm is directly manually engageable by a user from a radial direction external to the closure to pivot the latch arm radially inwardly within the passage and release the tabs from the ledges so that the lid can be pivoted toward the open position.
The present disclosure embodies a number of aspects that can be implemented separately from or in combination with each other.
A child-resistant closure in accordance with one aspect of the present disclosure includes a base and a lid molded integrally with the base. The lid is coupled by a hinge to the base to be pivotable between a closed position and an open position. One of the base and the lid has a latch arm resiliently extending from a periphery opposite the hinge. The latch arm has a pair of oppositely extending tabs adjacent to a free end of the latch arm. The other of the base and the lid has an external recess for receiving the latch arm and a pair of laterally spaced ledges in the recess for engagement by the tabs to lock the lid in the closed position. The latch arm in the recess is directly manually engageable by a user from a radial direction external to the closure to pivot the latch arm radially inwardly within the passage and release the tabs from the ledges so that the lid can be pivoted toward the open position. The tabs on the latch arm and the ledges in the recess are recessed radially inwardly from the outer surface of the latch arm in the closed position of the lid with the tabs engaged beneath the ledges. In this way, the latch arm can be pushed radially inwardly to release the lid without the user's fingers touching the ledges in the recess.
The latch arm preferably is coupled to the lid by a hinge strap having a width that is less than the width of the latch arm adjacent to the lid. This hinge strap absorbs the flexure when the arm is pushed inwardly so that the remainder of the lid is undistorted. Internal reinforcing ribs preferably are provided on the skirt of the lid, to which the hinge strap is coupled, further to protect the lid from distortion when the latch arm is pushed radially inwardly. The outer surface of the latch arm preferably forms a smooth continuation of the outer surface of the lid to eliminate any abrupt change in surface contour that a user's finger may contact. The latch system preferably is positioned adjacent to the bottom of the closure sidewall so that the bottom of the latch arm is protected by a shoulder on the container.